RC Rock Crawlers

An RC crawler is a type of off road RC car that’s engineered specifically to climb over the most difficult outdoor terrain. Entire communities of radio control car and truck hobbyists are organized around this activity. They gather with their families at mountain or woodland campsites and spend weekends guiding their remote control rock crawlers down trails, across rocks, over logs, and even through shallow streams, enjoying the challenges, the scenery, and each other’s company.

The most dedicated radio control rock crawler enthusiasts have a deep understanding of what their radio control rigs can do. They know how to get their off road RC car from point A to point B by maneuvering it down a line formed by features of the terrain. Most people would have trouble getting through on foot, let alone with a remote control vehicle!

It’s important to remember that RC crawlers are not racers. Don’t buy an RC rock crawler expecting that it will be fast. Because the goal of RC crawling is to get through challenging outdoor terrain, these radio control models prioritize maneuverability over speed. In the case of RC rock crawlers, slow and steady really does win the race!

Picture the type of terrain you see when walking along a wooded or mountain trail. That’s home turf for RC rock crawlers. To get through it, you’ll want an off-road RC car that’s durable and stable, with high ground clearance and generous axle articulation — which refers to how far the axle can move up and down relative to the chassis. Articulation allows your RC vehicle to keep all four tires in contact with the ground on rough terrain. A chassis that’s also equipped with rock sliders (or boat sides) will help you move through tight formations.

RC rock crawlers need strong climbing ability, too. That’s accomplished with a high-torque motor and tires that have outstanding grip. Properly equipped, some RC crawlers can climb at almost 90 degree angles!

When you’re driving over rough off-road surfaces, of course, parts will break. If you run your RC crawler hard, they’ll break more often. Drive shafts, antennas, U-joints, steering servos, and other components can be put under tremendous stress. The time will come when you’ll need to fix something, so get your radio control crawler from a manufacturer like Axial that has parts and upgrades readily available. It’s a good idea to keep essential parts and tools on hand when you’re out on the trails for when the inevitable happens.

To satisfy all of these criteria, you might expect RC crawlers to be expensive. Fortunately, that’s not always the case. The 1/10 scale Redcat Racing Everest-10 4WD comes ready-to-run (RTR) with everything required but four AA batteries, and it’s available from Tower Hobbies for less than $200. It also includes an articulating suspension, scale body, and large, aggressive tires.

Perhaps the best-known name in RC crawlers is Axial. In 2007, Axial broke new ground in extreme RC crawling with the 1/10 scale AX10. Each year, Axial hosts two major events — Axialfest Badlands in Indiana and Axialfest West in California — where hundreds of RC rock crawling enthusiasts get together to camp out and to run their Axial RC rock crawling rigs on a variety of exciting trails.

The Axial brand is sold by Tower Hobbies and offers one of the very best selections of radio control crawler models. Most are in the ready-to-run (RTR) completion level and feature exceptional scale bodies to complement their realistic off-road engineering. If you’re a Jeep fan, you’ll find several 1/10 scale Jeeps in the Axial lineup, including the SCX10 III Jeep JT Gladiator and SCX10 III Jeep JLU Wrangler.

If you’re interested in building an indoor rock crawling course for all-weather, day or night fun, Axial also has several well-made and low-cost RC crawlers in the smaller 1/24 scale. The SCX24 Deadbolt comes ready-to-run for under $150. It packs a huge amount of scale realism and performance in a size that’s less than eight inches long!